Key executives of the Industrial Bank of Korea led by President Kwon Seon-joo, 4th L, applaud at the launch ceremony for the bank’s Fintech Dream Support Center on April 7 at the IBK head office in Seoul.(Photos:IBK)

President Kwon Seon-joo, 4th R, joins applauding at the ceremony to launch “Smart People” and Social Supporters established by the bank’s staff standing among the staff who won  the awards for their outstanding social services.

The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) has been engaged in diverse fintech financial strategies, including a move to create IBK One Bank, which provides financial services on par with a professional internet bank.

IBK One Bank is an integrated general financial services bank that allows customers to use smartphones to conduct many financial transactions, including consultations on financial products and membership applications. Ultimately, the bank wants IBK One to develop a smart financial system in the style of an Omni Channel to remove the border between direct meeting and non-meeting in conducting the financial businesses.

IBK also wants to conclude tie-ups with as many as fintech firms with ITs as possible for cooperation in such areas as payment settlement, so that the tie-ups would be a win-win deal for both parties. 

The bank recently signed an agreement with the Bibari Republica, a fintech start-up on mobile remittance service called Toss. Under the agreement, IBK will provide support to Bibari Republica so that Toss can be operated as planned, which is to withdraw funds from customers’ bank accounts at IBK in real time under the firm banking service (Enterprise Internet Banking).

IBK also signed a cooperative tie-up agreement with Dot Co., the winner of the KBS Start-up Audition Program Golden Fantagon, and started to develop a fintech business model. The idea of the project is to mix IBK’s financial services with Dot Co.’s smart watch technologies, such as the dispatches of messages on financial services so that the blind can get financial information on the withdrawal of funds from their bank accounts and approvals on uses of their credit cards.

IBK has also been running the Smart Catch, a mobile banking service based on location, transmitting information to customers close its banking outlets on such matters as coupons for currency exchange and other events sponsored by the bank.

Financial services utilizing the close area communication technologies are being provided to customers who have an app service from the IBK One Financial Center in such areas as Apkujong-dong, Chongro 6 Street and other branches in Seoul. There are five involved in the trial. 

The bank also plans to sign tie-up agreements with SK Planet’s Paypin and LG U+’s Pay Now in the first half of this year to provide simplified payment services. Those IBK customers who registered information on their bank accounts are allowed to pay for what they bought at such duty free shops as the 11th Street and Shinsegye Department Store with their smartphones online.

IBK officials said IBK will increase its tie-up agreements with fintech firms with excellent technologies to provide more convenient banking services to customers.

IBK also declared IBK T-Solution in its design to lead the technology finance, which is a financial technology service providing tailor-made banking services to its customers based on their levels of technologies in such areas as loans, investments and consulting.